Even as Virat Kohli made peace with Naveen-ul-Haq during the IND vs AFG match in Delhi, putting to bed their tussle in the IPL and then on social media, former India batsman Gautam Gambhir made a strong statement regarding the duo’s fight.
Gautam Gambhir apparently has given his support to Naveen during the IPL 2023 – Gambhir is the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants, for whom Naveen played this year – after the pacer’s verbal battle with RCB star Virat Kohli. Gautam Gambhir also showed displeasure at the crowds in India taunting and teasing Naveen with “Kohli Kohli” chants.
Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq met on Wednesday in Delhi for their World Cup encounter. Naveen was being trolled by the crowds in India – first in Dharamsala and then in Delhi – whenever he was batting or bowling, and even on social media.
Kohli and Naveen then surprised everyone when they shook hands and also had a brief hug during the match. Virat Kohli then approached Naveen after the match and both laughed as well, the images went viral and now it seems the fans will also not go after the Afghan pacer.
Yout have the right to fight, doesn’t matter which country you belong: Gautam Gambhir
As usual, Gambhir was straight to the point and hit the nail on its head by saying that every player has the right to fight for his team, even if it means going after a great and popular cricketer.
“You fight on the field, not off the field. Every player has the right to fight for his team, fight for respect, and fight to win. It doesn’t matter which country you belong to or how good of a player you are. The good thing was when we saw Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq in between the overs, we can see that the fight has ended,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
Gambhir also urged the fans to not troll anyone as a player is only doing his best for his side.
“I would also want to tell the crowd and fans that any player in the ground or on social media, shouldn’t be trolled or made fun of. You are passionate when you represent your team. It was a huge thing for Naveen to play in IPL for the first time coming from Afghanistan,” the 2011 World Cup winner added.
